Sunil Gavaskar blames England's mindset, not pitch for losing pink-ball Test against India

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar blamed the mindset of England's batsmen for the side's collapse within 2 days of the pink-ball Test at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India cruised to a ten-wicket win against the visitors after bowling out Joe Root's men for just 81 runs in the second innings and chasing down the 49-run target. Noting that there was nothing challenging in the Motera pitch, Sunil Gavaskar blamed England's batsmen for contributing to their own downfall while citing Rohit Sharma's case to explain that scoring on the pitch wasn't impossible. 

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As per reports, Sunil Gavaskar lamented the body language displayed by the England cricketers during the game and contrasted it with the attitude shown by Indian players. The former Indian cricketer noted that batsmen from both teams failed to make required adjustments, including bat speed, bat grip, and stance at crease, during the game and that these factors made a difference in the game. Gavaskar further countered England's claims on the pitch and cited Rohit Sharma's innings to point out that it wasn't the case, Sunil Gavaskar credited Ashwin and Axar Patel for India's win rather than blaming the pitch. "It's more about the intent and application of the batsmen. It is a pitch where Rohit and Crawley hit half-centuries. England were thinking of how to survive and not how to score runs. You have to credit Axar Patel for the way he has used the odd ball that straightens. Ashwin and Axar were superb," PTI quoted Gavaskar as saying. 

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Motera after Chepauk

After criticising the turning pitch at the Chepauk, several veterans of the game jumped to slam the pict at the Motera stadium for England's dismal performance against India in the third Test of the series. Despite winning the toss, England failed to notch up a big score and were bundled out for merely 112 in the first innings. The visitors also erred in picking their playing eleven as skipper Joe Root selected three seamers and only one spinner on a track which provided more assistance to the turners. 

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England out of WTC race

As Team India steamrolled over England in the third Test of the series, Kohli's men also crushed Root & Co's hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship finale at the Lord's with the 10 wicket win on Thursday. India's spin masters Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel wreaked havoc in Ahmedabad as they dismissed England for merely 81 runs in the second innings eyeing to finish the proceedings within 2 days of the Test. Chasing a paltry total of 49, the Indian batsmen never looked uncomfortable as they made easy work of this small run chase as openers Rohit Sharma, and, Shubman Gill counter-attacked the English spinners with their aggressive batting display as the hosts comfortably got past the finish line by 10 wickets.

Now India needs to either win or draw the final Test of the series against England to book the finale berth at Lord's against New Zealand. If India loses the fourth match, Australia will qualify for the final of the World Test Championship in June later this year. Meanwhile, Team India have also registered their second Day-Night Test victory after their heroics in Ahmedabad. Prior to this contest, they had won their first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata in November 2019 and suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 2020 where the Indian team also ended up registering their lowest-ever Test score of 36. 

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